Injector apparatus



March 16, 1943. F. SANNA EI'AL INJECTOR APPARATUS Filed. Aug. 28, 1941 4SheetS-Sheet 1 1 J- ww! vlb. r kr :1 i Q m .sw & 2 f 1 AU n IL Ill: 9 IL\W w m w r2440 L. 5 42, Charlies 0%. San/aw March 16, 1943. sANNA r2,313,894-

INJECTOR APPARATUS Filed Au 28, 1941 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS.

F2690 L. Saw/n0, BY Chames J2". San/2a f' v 'M' 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 March16, 1943. F. 1.. SANNA ET AL INJECTOR APPARATUS Filed Aug. 28, 1941INVENTOR. f1, 61 0 L. San/2 0, i G/z/awes 0 Janna i Patented Mar. 16,1943 Sanna, Gary, Ind., assignors to S anna Dai y Engineers, Madison,Wis., a corporation of WIS- cousin Application August 28, 1941, Serial N0. 408,602

1 Claim.

Our invention relates, generally, to the injection -of material into aconduit which i carrying a material under pressure and. it hasparticular relation to the injection of a foodstuff into a conduitcarrying a milk product.

Our invention has for one of its objects the provision of means forcarrying out the method of processing milk disclosed in the copendinga=p-.

plication of Filip L. Sarina, Serial No. 404,833, filed July 31, 19.41.As disclosed in this application psyllium seed husks are combined with amilk product While it is being processed to powdered milk. This materialis combined with a milk product so that the powdered milk .can' be usedmore satisfactorily in ice cream mixes so as i to control the water ofhydration thereof in the final form. The present invention hasparticularly to do with the mechanical means for injecting the foodstuffsuch as psyllim seed husks into the milk product.

Another object of our invention is to provide for injecting a solid,semi-solid or liquid foodstuff into a conduit through which amilkproduct flows under pressure.

. Another object of our invention is to provide for preventing the flowof the milk product out f the conduit into the injector apparatus.

Still another object of our invention is to ;p10-' yide a seal of thematerial being injected between the milk product in the conduit and thesupply of foodstuff being injected into the same.

A further object of our invention is to correlate the injection of thefoodstuff into thernilk product with the cutting off of the connectionbetween the conduit containing the milk prodnot under pressure and thepassageway through which theioodstufi is injected into the conduit.

Other objects of our invention will, in part, be obvious and in partappear hereinafter.

For a more complete understanding of the na ture and scope of ourinvention reference can be had to the following detailed descriptiontaken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a concrete embodiment of the injectorapparatus constructed according to our invention;

Figure 2 is a view taken along the line 2-2 of Figure 3; certain .partsbeing shown in section and other parts being shown in side elevation;

Figure 3 is a detail sectional view taken along the line 33 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a detail sectional view taken along the line 44 of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a View, partly in side elevation and partly in section,showing the relationship -of certain parts of the injector differentfrom the showing in Figure .3;

Figure 6 is a View, in side elevation, of the lower end of the cutoff orvalve plunger; and

Figures 7 and 8 show different flow sheets which can be used inpracticing our invention.

Referring now particularly to Figures 1, 2, and 3 of the drawings, itwill be observed that the reference character Ill designates a suitablesup:- port member or frame base that is arranged to carryan injectorbody or frame preferably formed of mild steel. The frame H is arrangedtoreceive therethrough a conduit |2 which,.as shown in Figure 1,'has aninlet l3 and an outlet I4. It will be understood that a fluid, such as amilk product, flows through the conduit l2. As more fully described inthe copending application of Filip L. Sarina, referred to hereinbefore,the conduit l2 may interconnect the liquid collector of the Gray-Jensenpowdered milk process or the vacuum pan of the Rogers powdered milkprocess and the homogenizer used in both .proc esses.

The frame II is provided with a passageway l5 which communicates at oneend with the conduit i2 and at the other end through an aperture IS witha hopper I! which is arranged to hold the foodstuff that is to beinjected into the liquid milk product in the conduit I2. In order tofeed the foodstuff, such as psyllium seed husk's and sugar in drygranular form, a plunger 20, preferably formed of bronze, is sliclablymounted in the passageway l5 and is arranged to be reciprocated by acrosshead 2|, of mild steel, that in turn is slidably mounted on a castbrass crosshead bearing 22. The plunger 20 is provided with apertures 23for receiving a pin to hold the plunger Zil in different positions withrespect to the lcrosshead 2|. By this means the position of the plunger'20 in the passageway |5 can be varied somewhat with respect to thecrosshead 2i. Alternatively, different lengths of plunger 20 can beemployed if desired. A cover 24 is secured by suitable means to thecrosshead hearing 22 for holding the :crosshead 2| in place thereon.

The limit of forward movement of the plunger 20 is indicated by thebroken line 25, While the broken line 26 indicates the limit of reversemovement for one length of the plunger 20 or one position thereof withrespect to the crosshead 2|. It will be understood that the space in thepassageway l5 between the broken line 25 and the endadjacent the conduit-|2 null-normally at right angles.

be filled with the foodstuff from the hopper I1, thereby forming a sealbetween the conduit I2 and. the hopper H which, in the absence of othermeans to be described hereinafter, prevents the escape of the liquidmilk product through the passageway I5 into the hopper I'I. This ishighly desirable since the operation of the injector apparatus would beseriously impaired if the lliquid milk product were permitted to fill orpartially fill the passageway l5.

Extending through the crosshead 2| is a crosshead pin 33 to which arerockably secured connecting members 3| and 32 which are connected attheir opposite ends to a crankshaft 33 that may be formed of mild steel.The crankshaft 33 is journaled in end bearings 34 and 35 and a centerbearing 36. It is provided with a pulley 31, Figure 1, at one end overwhich a belt driven by a suitable mechanism, such as an electric motor,can be placed. It will be understood that other driving means can beemployed if desired. The connecting members 3i and 32 are provided withbearings 33 and 43, respectively, which are journaled on crank pins tiand 42 eccentrically located on and integrally formed with thecrankshaft 33.

The connecting members 3i and 32 are preferably formed of steel plateand are provided with openings 43 and. 44 therein so as to reduce theirweight and also to clear the conduit I2 which extends through them.

If desired, the frame I I can be provided with a cooling chamber 4'!through which cooling water can be circulated from an inlet conduit 48and out of an outlet conduit 49.

It will be observed that the passageway I5 opens into a passageway 5| inthe frame II so that the two passageways intersect substantially Aplunger sleeve 52, preferably formed of stainless steel, is located inthe passageway 5| and is arranged to receive a slidably mounted plunger53 that is preferably formed of bronze. A packing gland 54 together withpacking 55 and a packing nut 56 cooperate with the plunger 53 to preventescape of the fluid milk product in the conduit I2 past the plunger 53,

As is more clearly shown in Figure 6 of the drawings, the plunger 53 atits lower end is provided with a split plunger ring 51 that is held inplace by a suitable headed screw 58, which is threaded into the lowerend of the plunger 53. The plunger ring 5'! serves to seal the end ofthe passageway I5 where it joins the passageway 5i through the plungersleeve 52 when the plunger 53 is in its lowermost position, so as toprevent the flow of the liquid milk product from the conduit 52 backthrough the passageway I5. This seal is augmented by the fact that thepassageway I5 from the passageway 5! in the sleeve 52 to the forward endof the stroke of the plunger 2!] as indicated by the broken line isfilled with the foodstuff that is to be injected into the liquid milkproduct. This foodstuff forms the only seal for preventing escape of thefluid milk from the conduit I2 when the plunger 53 is moved upwardlysufficiently far to uncover the end of the passageway I5.

At its upper end the plunger 53 is provided with an integrally formedhead portion BI that is arranged to reciprocate in a guide member 52that is preferably formed of stainless steel. A coil compression spring63, located between the upper end of thehead SI and the underside of athreaded spring adjusting cap 84, serves to bias the plunger 53downwardly to the postion shown in Figure 5 of the drawings. Thedownward movement of the plunger 53 is cushioned by a shock absorber 65in the form of a suitable synthetic elastic material such as neoprene.

It will be obvious that the movement of the plunger 53 should becorrelated with the movement of the plunger 20 so as to effectivelyinject the foodstuff from the hopper i"! into the fluid milk in theconduit I2 and prevent the latter from escaping through the passagewayI5 into the hopper I'I. With this end in View, a follower pin 65,preferably formed of nickel steel, extends through the head portion 6Iof the plunger 53 and through suitable slots 61 in the side wall of theguide member 52. Rollers I58 and 39, preferably formed of hardened toolsteel, are provided on the ends of the follower pin 36 and are arrangedto cooperate with cam members II and I2, preferably formed of hardenedtool steel, which are carried by the connecting members 3| and 32,respectively.

In operation, it will be understood that the pulley 31 rotates thecrankshaft 33 at such a speed as to introduce the desired amount offoodstuff from the hopper II into the conduit I2. The crankshaft 33 isrotated in the direction indicated by the arrow 15 on Figure 3 of thedrawings and, with the parts in the relation there shown, the plunger 53is being moved upwardly as indicated by the arrow 76 while the plunger20 is moving forwardly as indicated by the arrow "5?. During this phaseof the operation, the liquid milk product in the conduit I2 is preventedfrom escaping through the passageway I5 by the seal which is provided bythe foodstuff in this passageway in front of the plunger. Continuedmovement of the crankshaft 33 in the direction indicated by the arrow 15finally results in a downward movement of the cam members II and I2which is followed by downward movement of the plunger 53 as urged by thecoil compression spring 63. The plunger 53 finally comes to rest whenthe underside of the head portion 6| engages the upper surface of theshock absorber washer or ring 65. In this position, as shown in Figure 5of the drawings, the plunger ring 51 cuts off the passageway I5 fromcommunication with the interior of the conduit I2. Also, as shown inFigure 5, the plunger 20 then moves on its return stroke in thedirection indicated by the arrow I8.

As indicated hereinbefore, the injector apparatus shown in Figures 1through 6 of the drawings and described hereinbefore is employed withother apparatus for making powdered milk. In Figure 7 of the drawings,there is illustrated one flow sheet which indicates the various stepsthat can be employed in this process. As there shown, a milk or milkderivative is passed to the liquid collector of the Gray-Jensen processor the vacuum pan of the Rogers process for removal of a part of thewater contained in it. The partly condensed milk product then flowsthrough a conduit, i. e., the conduit I2, Figure 1, to the injectorwhere a vegetable product such as psyllium seed husks combined withsugar is injected into it. From the injector the combined product passesthrough a homogenizer which insures a thorough dispersion and finenessof mix. The product is then forced under relatively high pressure by ahydraulic pump through a spray drying chamber where the remaining wateris removed by the blasts of air. The solids now in powdered form fall tothe bottom of the spray drying chamber where they are collected forfurther processing as may be desired or are packaged for shipment.

In Figure 8 of the drawings, there is illustrated another flow sheetwith which the injector apparatus shown in Figures 1 to 6 of thedrawings can be employed. Th ice cream, as it comes from a continuousice cream freezer, is caused to flow through a conduit, 1. e., theconduit l2, Figure 1, to the injector where one or several differentkinds of foodstuffs can be injected into it. For example, as shown,fruits, jams, flavoring material, either liquid or dry, nut meats, etc.,can be injected into the ice cream as it continuously passes through theconduit. It is then unnecessary to introduce these foodstuffs into themix at the freezer and as a result it is possible to obtain a moreuniform distribution of them in the resulting ice cream product.

It will be obvious that various changes can be made in the foregoingconstruction and methods without departing from the spirit and scopethereof. Accordingly, it will be understood that all matter shown in theaccompanying drawings and described hereinbefore shall be interpreted asillustrative and not in a limiting sense.

We claim as our invention:

Apparatus for injecting solid, semi-solid or fit liquid foodstuff into aconduit through which a fluid or semi-fluid milk product flows underpressiire comprising, in combination, a housing through which saidconduit extends having a passageway opening into said conduit, a hoppercommunicating with said passageway for receiving the foodstuff anddelivering the same thereto, a, plunger reciprocable in said passagewayfor forcing on its forward stroke the foodstuff in said passageway intothe milk product in said conduit, acrosshead fastened to said plunger,means slidably mounting said crosshead, a crankshaft, meansinterconnecting said crosshead and said crankshaft whereby the former isreciprocated on rotation of the latter, an additional plungerreciprocable in said housing in a passageway intersecting the firstmentioned passageway, spring means biasing said additional plunger to aposition cutting off connection of said first mentioned passageway withsaid conduit, and cam means 0perated by said crankshaft and cooperatingwith said additional plunger for moving the same away from said positionthereof substantially at

